THOUGH the price may have seemed steep, Jade-Ann Dawkins had a hunger and desire to pay her family and friends back for their unwavering support — and the horizontal jumper did just that.

For Dawkins, who was assiduous in every aspect of her preparation, the considerable risk of pushing herself beyond the norm for this season was worth the reward — double gold medal-winning performances at the recently concluded 50th Carifta Games to display alongside the two gold medals won a few weeks earlier at the 113th ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships on local soil.

At the high school championships Dawkins cut the sand at 6.12m and 13.02m in the long jump and triple jump, respectively, to better more experienced rivals. But she was in even more imposing at the regional games in The Bahamas.

There the 17-year-old achieved a new personal best of 6.14m to top the Under-20 girls’ long jump and 13.05m for the triple jump, assisting in securing the 40 gold medals won to add to the 22 silver and 17 bronze.

“Like I said at the start of the season, my main goal is to become one of the best jumpers that ever existed. To do that, I know I will need to continue improving in my events and so I am happy that I was able to top both the long jump and triple jump at Champs and again at Carifta.

“It’s a wonderful feeling. I worked extremely hard for this feat and so I am super proud of myself. I’ve come a really long way and I love the fact that I am hitting my targets one step at a time, all thanks to God and everyone who encouraged and supported me in any way,” Dawkins told the Jamaica Observer.

“My family, friends, coaches, they are my main source or motivation and I’m super excited that I could repay their confidence in me with my gold medals success that I didn’t get a chance to accomplish in the previous year,” she added.

To compete in multiple events is a supreme test of one’s mettle and Dawkins has had her fair share of ups — as it is now based on her rich vein of form — and of course there were some downs when she may have doubted herself and her abilities.

Last year presented one such occasion when Dawkins suffered a hamstring niggle that trapped the athlete in her own mind.

“When there were downs I had to learn to respond well, to be self-motivated, and to dig deep. The same thing happened both at Champs and Carifta because I was feeling pain while competing, which made things pretty difficult. But I pushed through the pain by reminding myself, on each attempt [and] in both events, of what I want to achieve — and by virtue of that I got myself double gold medals,” the shy personality shared.

When an athlete goes through all that and keeps fighting, they truly have a dogged mentality — and that coupled with the fact that Dawkins oozes natural athleticism that must be harnessed and refined makes her one to watch for the future.

But for now the towering jumper is focused on finishing up her years at St Jago High before garnering too much thought about what the next level might be for her.

“I am a firm believer in the fact that there’s always room for improvement. I am still young, and I believe I still have a lot to give [in] representing my country and also my family. But for now, it’s back to school to finish up my high school years and continue with my training and see what the future holds,” Dawkins, who is expected to move up from Class Two to Class One at next year’s high school championships, stated.